Issue - meetings

Councillor Lin Patterson presented a petition containing over 2,200 signatures calling for action on climate change now and made a statement in support.

On a motion from Councillor Rob Appleyard, seconded by Councillor Mark Shelford, it was

RESOLVED that

This Council acknowledges;

1.  The devastating impacts that climate change and global temperature increases will have on the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, including on the health, safety and wellbeing of B&NES residents;

2.  The urgent need for action to be taken fast enough for there to be a chance of further climate change being limited to avoid the worst impacts of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for hundreds of millions of people;

3.  The opportunity for individuals and organisations at all levels to take action on reducing carbon emissions, from both production and consumption;

4.  The need to enable low carbon living across society through changes to laws, taxation, infrastructure plus transport in all forms, policies and plans;

5.  The historic commitments made at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris regarding the future of renewable energy;

6.  That global temperatures have already increased by 1oC compared to pre-industrial levels, are still rising, and are on track to overshoot the Paris Agreement limit before 2050;

7.  That the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report (November 2018) makes clear the need to ensure global carbon emissions start to decline well before 2030 to avoid overshoot and enable global warming to be limited to 1.5?C;

8.  Our responsibility to help secure an environmentally sustainable future for our residents and in relation to the global effects of anthropogenic climate change.

This Council subsequently notes that;

9.  Despite the Paris Agreement placing no binding commitments upon local government institutions, we as a Council can still play our part in the global movement towards a sustainable energy future, this is evidenced in recent reports which show with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities, further climate change can be limited;

10.The UK is well placed to contribute to this, drawing upon our existing industrial base, rooted in an industrial heritage which once before revolutionised the global energy economy to the great benefit of humankind;

11.B&NES is well-placed to champion both rural and urban decarbonisation through renewable energy, energy efficiency, smart energy development, zero carbon homes, local & sustainable food, sustainable travel, carbon sequestration;

12.The Council is already working on a number of these issues including, for example, work to ensure the new Local Plan ensures zero carbon development and that the Council-owned ACL builds its new homes to that standard;

13.More needs to be done to enable Bath and wider area’s high number of listed buildings to be made more energy efficient, through pressure on central government and Historic England;

14.The development of green industries can deliver economic benefits through creating well-paid, high-skilled employment locally, regionally and nationally as well  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86